Another comparison

Saturday saw another real opportunity for some real time camera comparisons with a chance being offered to me to photograph our factory gardens. Once again conditions were less than ideal for photography with a harsh white light and a mistiness that obscures distant objects and yet was insufficiently thick to give “atmosphere’.

This was absolutely not a studied comparison, I simply took my whole kit and used what seemed appropriate.

So what did I use? The X100 hardly came  our of the bag apart from a few IR’s, the sensor does react nicely to IR and a 49mm R72 produces really nice results and the OVF means framing is easy.

BW-IR with the X100 + R72 filter

Not surprisingly I used the DSLR for Macro, for true wide angle with the wonderful 21 mm Distagon and for 5 bracket HDRs. Everything else was done with the DP2M.

White hibiscus: EOS 5D3: Sigma 150mm macro

After processing I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the DSLR CR2 RAWs looked, hardly surprising I know but when you get used to the Foveon files everything else does tend to look ‘mushy’. And the CR2’s do take LR4 sharpening spectacularly well.

But once again, the Foveon showed what it is made of. When you get it right…sheer magic. But getting it right is definitely an art, whereas the 5D3 can get a good file from pretty much any situation.  

Bamboo: DP2M

I have considered getting a OVF for the DP2M but in fact, even in the bright white light of yesterday I could still see enough to judge framing. I have ordered a 3 inch Hoodman loupe however to assist with critical framing.

And it was hot and humid, I was dripping sweat and found that the ergonomics of the larger DSLR made for much easier handling. So, what are my conclusions today? I reckon that I can get away with two or maybe three compacts 90% of the time but that 10% that the DSLR covers makes it indispensable to me for now. Having said that, I think my coming trip to France I’m going to leave the DSLR kit and attempt to spend a month with just my three compacts.